Magazine Poll: Northeast Is The Home Of Best Cities

NEW YORK — Once again, someone has taken the trouble to determine the best places to live in America, and city officials of Nashua, N.H., are pleased by the results.

Nashua, which enjoys rustic New England charm, a booming economy and nearness to such desirable places as Atlantic Ocean resorts, Boston and the White Mountains, was selected as the top place to live in the United States in a survey released in the August edition of Money magazine.

There have been a number of best-city surveys in recent years, including Rand McNally's Places Rated Almanac, which in 1985 selected Pittsburgh as No. 1. In the Money poll, Pittsburgh was 43rd.

But previous studies were flawed, said Money magazine, by failing ''to give extra weight to the key characteristics -- such as safety, the weather, the local economy -- that are most important to the public.''

Money magazine, in its listing of 300 cities, said these factors were taken into consideration as it formulated its ranking in a poll of 226 readers.

Crime was one of the most important of 60 factors the poll cited, and the appreciation of home value also weighed heavily.

The least important factors in the poll: nearness of an Amtrak station, availability of household help and proximity to a bus station.

Money said weather was among the poll's top considerations and used sunny San Diego as a measure of ideal weather. That boosted two California areas into the top 10, but the other eight all were north of the Sun Belt, seven in the Northeast. Two cities from Florida made the top 300: Fort Walton Beach, 61; Fort Myers, 97.

Pennsylvania placed the most cities in the top 100 with 13; California was the runner-up with 12.

Of the 300 metropolitan areas rated, five of the bottom 10 are in Michigan, with Flint ranked dead last. These cities were hurt in the rankings, Money said, by high crime rates, weak economies and few arts and leisure activities.